PAKISTAN FLOOD RELIEF

Over the course of July and early August 2010, Pakistan experienced the worst monsoon-related floods in living memory. Heavy rainfall, flash floods and riverine floods have devastated large parts of Pakistan since the arrival of seasonal monsoon rains on 22 July. Assessments of losses and damages are ongoing. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) now reports that 20.36 million in 78 districts across the country have been affected by the floods. At least 1.9 million homes have been reported damaged or destroyed. Hikaru Kita was deployed as an Early Recovery Advisor for UN HABITAT at Islamabad to assist and support the flood response. The key responsibility of the Early Recovery Advisor was to coordinate effectively UN HABITAT inputs for shelter components with Shelter Cluster and act as a technical focal point for UN HABITAT emergency relief and early recovery programme. I also had a responsibility of supporting the development, coordination and supervision of the implementation of shelter programme.